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The Ghost Wolf felt as if all the bones in his body had shattered!
His breath was faint, more exhaling than inhaling now.
Li Hengsheng's body staggered slightly upon landing, but he steadied himself. Despite his pale complexion and sweat beading at his temples, Li Hengsheng maintained his standing posture without any sign of abnormality.
Night had already fallen.
None could see Li Hengsheng's current condition.
And nobody cared about his state at the moment, for they were all stunned into silence!
Li Hengsheng was merely at the peak of the Postnatal Realm!
His previous victory over Mu Haiming, who was at the pinnacle of the Postnatal Realm, was already unbelievable.
But it wasn't shocking to the world.
Now, Li Hengsheng had actually defeated a Prenatal expert!
However, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that the Ghost Wolf, a Prenatal expert, couldn't even withstand a single move from Li Hengsheng and was instantly killed.
Looking at Li Hengsheng, he seemed unharmed.
This was beyond their imagination.
Even Xu Kui, who had been following Li Hengsheng for a long time, began to doubt if he was still dreaming!
A Postnatal expert instantly killing someone from the Prenatal Realm.
What kind of absurdity was this?
Li Hengsheng turned around and spoke with a hint of fatigue, "Uncle Xu, take the corpse of this Ghost Wolf back and hang it at the city gate tomorrow."
"Eh, yes," Xu Kui replied dumbly.
After Li Hengsheng finished speaking, he climbed into the carriage.
Yan Wanghou was trembling with excitement, his mustache quivering. The strength of their Inspector was too formidable.
He could actually slay a Prenatal expert.
He had been worried about Li Hengsheng's strength before, wondering what would happen if one day he was assassinated.
Now, who would dare?
Even a Prenatal master had died at Li Hengsheng's hands. Unless the Prenatal Realm ancestors from several families made a move, who else could contend with the Inspector's office?
Xu Kui approached the Ghost Wolf and found that it was on the brink of death, its bones shattered and internal organs completely ruptured. Xu Kui couldn't imagine how powerful the move Li Hengsheng had used was, to cause such a formidable Ghost Wolf to collapse instantly.
At this moment, Xu Kui couldn't help but feel emotional; the growth of their young master was truly terrifying.
When they first met, he was just a minor disciple in the Transcendence Realm, unremarkable. Later, he rose rapidly, even reaching the heavens in one step, and now he had grown to an unfathomable level. Even the Ghost Wolf met such a fate; it seemed that the young master's strength had already surpassed his own.
"Let's go back."
Li Hengsheng said indifferently.
"Yes, young master," Xu Kui's voice was filled with humility.
After that battle, not only did the people from the Hua family and the Mu mansion feel a sense of fear towards Li Hengsheng, but even Xu Kui began to respect Li Hengsheng more.
This was a respect for the strong.
The people from the Mu mansion and the Hua family hurried back to report.
The Prenatal Realm Ghost Wolf was killed by Li Hengsheng in one move.
They had seen it with their own eyes.
When this news reached the Mu mansion, Mu San thought the person reporting was still dreaming.
What was Li Hengsheng's cultivation level?
Postnatal perfection.
A Postnatal perfection had killed a Prenatal Realm expert.
Mu San felt it was an insult to his intelligence.
But even the people from the Hua family reported back the same thing. After the Mu mansion and the Hua family communicated, they found out that the incident was indeed true.
This made both families truly fearful.
Li Hengsheng actually possessed the combat power of the Prenatal level?
After returning to the Inspector's office, Li Hengsheng went to rest.
Using the Sun-Moon Synchronous technique took a huge toll on Li Hengsheng, leaving his bloodline in a weakened state. This was an act of overexerting his divine body.
But without using this technique, relying solely on his own strength and the Overlord Immortal Spear technique, he would not be a match for a Prenatal expert.
Sitting on the bed, Li Hengsheng's body was still trembling, his vital energy depleted by more than half.
Despite the strong recovery ability of the Sun-Moon Immortal-Demon Divine Body, he needed to slowly recuperate.
After using it for the first time, he carried Lu Shiran out from the midst of countless Ghost Clan members and fell into a deep sleep for a whole day and night before recovering.
Now, although he hadn't fallen into a deep sleep, he still felt exhausted.
But at this moment, Li Hengsheng was pondering another issue.
Who was the person who had provided him with information?
How did they know that people from the Mu mansion were coming to kill him?
This person provided the information, so they must be a friend, not an enemy. Someone was secretly helping him, and Li Hengsheng was happy, feeling a sense of security.
If only he knew who this person was.
Li Hengsheng could imagine that tomorrow the entire Tushan City would undergo a huge change.
After returning, Li Hengsheng also had Wu Santong spread the news of tonight's battle.
Wu Santong knew Li Hengsheng was very powerful, but learning that Li Hengsheng had killed a Prenatal expert still shocked him for a long time.
He felt more and more that he had followed the right person.
***
On the other hand, that night, the people from the Hua family and the Mu mansion had trouble sleeping.
The strength of the Inspector's office had grown strong, and they did not collude with their own families, which was what worried them.
It seemed that in the future, the Inspector's office would often spoil their plans.
What could they do?
Could it be that they would have to ask their ancestors to come out of seclusion and assassinate Li Hengsheng?
The next morning.
The corpse of the Ghost Wolf was hung at the city gate of Tushan City, and a notice was posted below, explaining the incident.
This news spread throughout Tushan City in an instant.
However, the notice did not specify that the person was killed by Li Hengsheng, only that he attempted to assassinate the Inspector and was slain outside the city.
But such news was enough to cause a sensation.
Even Lin Qizhu and his companions saw this news when they entered the city, and they all showed shocked expressions.
They didn't expect the Inspector's office to be so strong, capable of slaying a Prenatal expert.
This made Lin Qizhu and his companions have even more expectations and hopes for the Inspector's office.
Meanwhile, in Ziwu City, Li Changqing also received such news. Even Li Changqing was shocked that his son could slay a Prenatal expert.
Postnatal perfection slaying the Prenatal!
His son was a supreme genius!
After reading the news, Li Changqing was in a great mood, so he added a dish of peanuts for everyone who came to drink at the tavern today.
At the same time, Li Changqing also received more information from Zhen Wanshou.
He also had the small animals controlled by Zhen Wanshou deliver the information to Li Hengsheng.
Fortunately, Zhen Wanshou had many golden beetles. Although Zhen Wanshou was reluctant to do so, he couldn't resist the stories told by Li Changqing.
He was captivated by the stories of Sun Wukong causing havoc in Heaven, being suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain, and then meeting Tang Sanzang, among others.
***
Lin Qizhu officially joined the Inspector's office, becoming a headhunter within the office.
Some of his brothers also became guards in the office.
With their addition, the strength of the Inspector's office increased significantly.
The next afternoon, people from the Mu mansion came to redeem someone.
This time, unlike before, the people from the Mu mansion were very humble. It was Mu San who wanted to redeem Mu Haiming, paying more than twenty thousand taels of silver, without any nonsense or arrogance.
But when the people from the Mu mansion wanted to redeem Mu Xiong as well, they were rejected by Li Hengsheng, who also made it clear that Mu Xiong was to be beheaded.
Because he had committed a grave crime.
The people from the Mu mansion were left speechless and could only leave dejectedly.
The Mu mansion suffered a great loss, and Mu San was truly furious, but for the time being, he couldn't think of a good solution.
They could only carry out the business of the Mu mansion in secret.
In the evening.
Li Hengsheng received another piece of intelligence delivered by a little squirrel.
This method of delivering intelligence made Li Hengsheng somewhat amused, feeling it was somewhat childish.
But when Li Hengsheng read the intelligence, he narrowed his eyes.
Because the content at the beginning of the intelligence was still normal.
It told him that among the guards of the Inspector's office, there was a mole from the Mu mansion. Li Hengsheng was not surprised by this; if there were no moles from the Mu mansion or the Hua family, he would find it abnormal.
But the content below made Li Hengsheng think deeply.
Because it involved Lu Qiaoqiao.
The first point, if you encounter Lu Qiaoqiao within the territory of Zhenguo Mansion, do not believe her words; she is not the real Lu Qiaoqiao.
The second point, if you see Lu Qiaoqiao wearing red clothes, you must stay away from her.
The third point, be careful of the master of Dao Mountain Ancient Land, Luo Xiaochuan, and do not fully trust him.
Seeing these three messages, Li Hengsheng overturned some of his thoughts. He originally thought that the person providing him with intelligence was someone from Zhenguo Mansion, but now it seemed that it should be someone he had known before.
It was very likely someone from Dao Mountain Ancient Land.
But who could it be?
Why did this person know about Lu Qiaoqiao?
And what did it mean that encountering Lu Qiaoqiao meant she was not Lu Qiaoqiao?
What did wearing red clothes mean?
And why not trust Luo Xiaochuan?
Regarding the master of Dao Mountain Ancient Land, Li Hengsheng didn't know much. He only knew that Luo Xiaochuan seemed to be the pillar of Dao Mountain Ancient Land, and when he returned to Dao Mountain Ancient Land, all the high-level officials felt as if they had found a stabilizing pin.
Luo Xiaochuan was the core.
But why tell him not to trust him?
What use could a small figure like himself have for Luo Xiaochuan?
Li Hengsheng thought carefully; indeed, Luo Xiaochuan was a bit strange. He had just returned and assigned himself to Zhenguo Mansion as an Inspector.
Knowing that his strength was not up to standard.
Originally, Li Hengsheng thought Luo Xiaochuan was punishing him for letting Zhou Jun go, but now it seemed there might be another deeper meaning?
And why would he encounter Lu Qiaoqiao in Zhenguo Mansion?
Wasn't Lu Qiaoqiao in the Long Night Ancient Nation?
"Sigh," Li Hengsheng even felt a bit of a headache.
Ever since he went from being a menial disciple at Peak of Ten Thousand Slaughters to a direct disciple, there had always been strange things happening around him.
Brothers were not brothers, lover was not lover, and there was even a possibility that his father was not his father.
What on earth was happening to him?
Who could give him an answer?
At this time, Li Hengsheng somewhat missed Li Changqing.
Could Li Changqing give him an answer to these things?
Or perhaps, even he didn't know?
The following days went on as usual. Although Li Hengsheng knew there was a mole from the Mu mansion among the guards, he didn't care and didn't point it out. Instead, he kept this person around, perhaps they could be of some use.
The money obtained from the Mu mansion and the Hua family was used by Li Hengsheng for the construction of White Snake Path.
The people of White Snake Path lived in poverty, not only because of the previous exorbitant taxes but also because they had no good sources of income or work opportunities.
Li Hengsheng just wanted to develop White Snake Path, so he recruited some people for tasks such as road construction and bridge building.
He gave the people of White Snake Path something to do, food to eat, and money to spend, which made the masses extremely happy.
The people's hearts were leaning towards the Inspector's office.
Li Hengsheng also received a letter from Li Changqing, saying that he had gone on a business trip to North Cold Country, so if there was anything to find him for, they could write to the Changqing Trading Company in North Cold Country.
For some reason, knowing that Li Changqing had also arrived in North Cold Country warmed and reassured Li Hengsheng's heart.
It also gave Li Hengsheng more motivation.
The public security in Tushan City also improved. The Inspector's office was very strict. Previously, there were many people causing trouble on the streets and oppressing the commoners.
They all relied on some small clans or had ties with the Hua family and the Mu mansion, acting with impunity.
Now it was different.
Whenever such incidents occurred, the guards of the Inspector's office would immediately take action, capture the perpetrators, and throw them into the dungeon.
With Lin Qizhu and his brothers taking action, the overall public security improved a lot.
Moreover, the commoners would also come to the Inspector's office to file complaints.
This atmosphere spread, and in just half a month, the ethos of Tushan City had changed drastically from before.
The commoners were happy, but the Hua family and the Mu mansion were very unhappy.
They thought that Li Hengsheng was just a new official with some fire, and it would be fine after a while. However, now the inspections in Tushan City were becoming stricter and stricter, and their business was difficult to conduct.
The Hua family no longer had the authority to collect taxes. Previously, when the people from the Hua family went to the commoners' homes to collect taxes, the commoners refused to pay, saying that the Inspector's office had issued an order not to pay taxes.
This angered the people from the Hua family, who beat up the commoners.
As a result, the commoner filed a complaint at the Inspector's office.
The people from the Hua family who beat up the commoners were enjoying themselves in the brothel when they were directly captured by the Inspector's office, not even allowed to put on their pants, and were dragged away from the street to the Inspector's office.
The entire city's commoners saw it.
He wished he could burrow into a hole and die.
The Mu mansion also secretly conducted some business, trying to avoid the Inspector's office, but it turned out that the Inspector's office was always one step ahead of them, confiscating their goods, releasing the people, and then arresting them, and sentencing them to death.
A few days later, in the most conspicuous place in Tushan City, the people from the Inspector's office escorted Mu Xiong there and beheaded him in front of many commoners.
This made the commoners clap and cheer!
Such satisfying justice was something they had never seen before.
At this time, the Mu mansion and the Hua family were no longer in the mood to care about this matter. They were now conducting internal investigations because they suspected there was a mole in their midst!
Otherwise, why would every decision they made be known to Li Hengsheng in advance?
This was too outrageous.
***
Ziwu City.
Changqing Tavern.
Another rainy day.
Li Changqing found that the weather here liked to rain a lot, and the air was very humid.
On the menu of Changqing Tavern, a new dish was added.
Fried spring rolls.
The new dish was very popular as soon as it came out.
Fresh vegetables wrapped in spring rolls, fried to a crispy exterior, with a crunchy sound when bitten into, followed by the tender and juicy taste of fresh vegetables, sweet and juicy, complemented by the wheat fragrance of the spring roll skin, was simply a perfect match.
The business of Changqing Tavern was getting better and better.
And Zhen Wanshou finally finished listening to the story of Journey to the West after more than half a month.
"I'm ready to leave," Zhen Wanshou came to say goodbye to Li Changqing today.
"Leaving?" Li Changqing was surprised, "Aren't you staying well? I still want you to give me intelligence. What will I do if you leave?"
How could Li Changqing let go of such a rare and extraordinary person?
Talents were hard to come by, and it would be good to place them in the intelligence department of Changqing Trading Company in the future.
"The story is over, naturally I will leave," Zhen Wanshou said with a smile, "I have never stayed in one place for so long before. Your stories are very interesting, but now, it's time to say goodbye."
"Oh."
Li Changqing raised his eyebrows, "I was actually planning to tell you a new story today, one that you've never heard before, and it's a fascinating world of martial arts. If you leave now and miss it, don't regret it!"
At these words, Zhen Wanshou was taken aback, "You have more stories?"
He originally thought that Journey to the West was Li Changqing's ultimate story.
How could one person have so many fascinating stories?
Although Zhen Wanshou had heard many stories, there were only a few that were truly fascinating. Were all the stories told by Li Changqing so captivating?
A fascinating world of martial arts?
What kind of world was that?
Was it more fascinating than the Cangyuan Realm?
"Then I'll listen to a bit," Zhen Wanshou hesitated, really wanting to hear the interesting stories told by Li Changqing.
"Alright, then I'll start with a part."
Li Changqing began to tell the story leisurely.
The story was simple, starting with a prince from the Northern Cool Kingdom, a young man named Xu Fengnian, and his adventures in the martial world with an old coachman named Lao Huang.
Soon, Zhen Wanshou was listening with wide eyes!
Was the King of Northern Cool sick?
He banished his own son?
And what realm was that son, Xu Longxiang, with his innate divine strength?
"Mr. Changqing, there's an important guest outside," at this moment, Zhang Fuguang walked in and spoke to Li Changqing.
"Alright, I'm coming."
Li Changqing stood up and left.
"Hey, don't go, you haven't finished the story!" Zhen Wanshou shouted anxiously from behind, "What about that Nangong Imperial Archer? Who is he?"
But Li Changqing had already walked away.
When Li Changqing arrived at the front, the tavern was already full, with Xiao Luo standing at the entrance.
"Captain Xiao," Li Changqing approached with a smile, "I'm afraid it's full right now, you might have to wait a bit."
"Mr. Changqing,"
Xiao Luo said somewhat awkwardly, "We have a distinguished guest today, could you possibly find us a seat?"
"A distinguished guest?"
Li Changqing glanced outside and saw a man with slightly graying hair, dressed in plain clothes but exuding an aura of a battle-hardened general, as if he had been through many battles.
Li Changqing almost immediately recognized who the man was.
Dragon Haicheng, the city defense general of Ziwu City.
Once a significant figure in North Cold Country, he had come to Ziwu City to guard the border because he was dissatisfied with the nobles of North Cold Country.
Seeing Xiao Luo's expression, Li Changqing chuckled and said, "Wait here, my tavern has its rules. Whoever comes has to follow the order. If there are no rules, there's no need to keep the tavern open."
Even generals are not that impressive.
Li Changqing had long since changed; he didn't put Dragon Haicheng in his eyes at all.
Let alone Dragon Haicheng.
Even if Zhao Beiming came, he would have to wait outside.
Xiao Luo's expression became even more awkward. He knew that Li Changqing was a person who valued rules. There were many rules in the tavern, and Li Changqing had never made exceptions for anyone.
But today's visitor was General Dragon Haicheng. The general had to wait too?
Wasn't that a bit too…
"Does Mr. Changqing know who this is?" Xiao Luo thought Li Changqing didn't recognize him and hurriedly explained.
"Even if Yin Fengqi came, he would wait outside. That's the rule of Changqing Tavern," Li Changqing said indifferently, "Captain Xiao, don't make it difficult for me."
"Well said!"
At this moment, Dragon Haicheng actually walked in. Hearing Li Changqing's words, Dragon Haicheng laughed and said, "The gentleman speaks well. Every place has its rules. Without rules, whether it's a tavern or a country, it is not far from destruction."
"I will queue up here today. I've heard that the wine in this tavern is very good. I must taste it later."
Li Changqing also politely said, "General, your visit honors us. Later, I'll add half a plate of peanuts for the general."